Adjustable tail gate



oct. 1s, 1932. I R R BARRETT 1,883,473

ADJUSTABLE TAIL GATE Filed Dec. 21, 1928 s sheets-sheet 1 @sr-io E85, E. R. BARRETT 1,883,473

.ADJUSTABLE TAIL GATE- Filed Dec. 21, 192e s sheets-sheet 2 kweuor Oct. 18, 1932. E. R. BARRETT ADJUSTABLE TAIL GATE 2l, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec.

" H" 'IIIII l oen or (ot um s Patented Oct. 1,8, 1932 UNITED s'rATesgwire Nry oFFlcl-z EDWARD n. BARRETT, ornn'rnorr, MICHIGAN. AssIGNoR 'ro Woon nYpaAULIc HoIs'r Y a. BODY COMPANY, or DETRorT, MICHIGAMAJCORPORATION oF MICHIGAN AnJus'raBLn TAIL `GATE 'Application ined December 21, 192s. seriaim.7327.700.Y

lhis invention relates to convertible truckV bodies and is particularly concerned with an adjustable tail gate construction whichmay be used with truck bodies and which mayoccupy either avertical or horizontal position.v

In the vertical position the tailgate construction together with a vertical front tothe body and spaced apart side members forms a body capable of carrying loose material which may.

be readily dumped by unlatching thetail gate proper 'andelevating the -body at the front. In the horizontalposition the tailgate constructionlies in thesameplane with the bottom of the body, its upper side being flush with the upper side of the bottom, wherebyr thecapacity of the bodymay be increased or articles which do not require sides to hold` them in pla-ce on the body may be carried, the body being extended in length for greater capacity and such articles, particularly when heavyV and cumbersome, readily removed from the body by moving the same rearwardly over the tail gate construction. Thesides to the body are detachably connected to rthe bottom so that they may be removed when desired and replaced by longer sides'whichcan be used when the body is extended.

The present inventionconsists of many improvements in the type of convertible `vehicle body previously patented to me December 12, 1924 and having No; 1,517,697. The present construction is of a simpler,k stronger and more durableV character, more readily operated forchanging fromfrone form of vehicle body to the other, is one whichis easily manufactured and installed and has no parts liable to be injured in service, andlis combined with' the tail gatev latches in a'novel manner so that the latch .will serve its purpose to hold the tail gate closed when said tail gate element'is in vertical position and will help to support(L the tail gate proper against downwardv movement when it `is 1n horizontal position. ,All or these additional and novel features of construction will be-apparent upon understanding oi the invention from the following description taken in connection with the accom-Y panying drawings, in which, l

cal section through the rear part of the conl struction shown in Fig. 2L s Fig. 4 isa fragmentary enlargedfrear end lelevation of the body withthetail gate closedV and latched in its vertical position.

; Fig. isa` fragmentary transverse vertical section through .the construction shown inA Fig. 4,'the section being taken'longitudinally of the body. r

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical sectionsubstantiallyon the plane of line 6-6 ofFig.7. Y' .f 'l v Fig. 7 is a fragmentary enlarged planey and horizontalsection through the construction at one rear corner of the body, and

Fig. 8 `is a lviewksimila'r to that shown in Fig. 6, illustrating the methodof operating the latches which automatically function to the positions to which it may be adjusted.

inthe differentgures of the drawings. l s

The body includes a horizontal bottom 1 of'V metal-which at its'longitudinal side edges is turned downwardly providing the side flanges 2. `The bodyr is supported on a .plurality of'crss members 3, preferably ofchanneliron which in; turnv are permanentl'yfse-- cured to longitudinal sills 4 likewise of channel form. r At eachrearc'orner of thebottom of the body `a hollow member in the orin of an integral casting is located and secured. 'This member includesl spaced apartv outer and inner vertical sides 5 and 6 connected adja-s ccnt their front ends by a vertical web 7 which Like reference 'characters refer to like parts is located a short distanceback of the front end of the outer side, as shown in Fig.17. TheV sides 5 and 6 are further connectedat the rear' and undersidesby a cross web 8 andV at the upper side'by an upper Vhorizontalweb 9 over which the'rear portion of the bottom ,y 1 extends as best shown in Fig. 6. Ahorizontal ledge 10 extends forward from the lower edge of the web 7 and lies between the two sides 5 and 6 of the casting and one of the cross channels 3 supporting the bottom of the body is located in front of thegweb 7 above said ledge l and permanently secured thereto, it being apparent that'the cross niember 3 is thus connected at its opposite ends to the hollow members located one at each rear Y cornerof the bottom of the body.

At the inner side of Ythe innerside 6 of eachof said hollow members a vertical flange 11 is integrally cast together with a horizontal ila-nge 12 which joins at its front edge with the lower edge of the flange 11 and from which a vertical part 13 extends downwardly adjacent the rear edge of the flange 12. A cross connecting channel 3a lies at each end above the flanges 12 of the two members and against the rear side of the flanges 11 and is permanently secured thereto (see Figs. and 7). In this manner the two rear corner members described are very securely and permanently connected with the body and are supported by the channels 3 and 3a as fully shown in Fig. 7 y

n Each of the hollow members at the rear corners of the body are slotted at their upper rear portions horizontally back ofthe web 9 and vertically downward for a distance in the cross web 8. An arm 14 extends through said slot and is pivotally mounted between its ends on a suitable stud 15 located between the sides 5 and 6 ofthe member. Each of the arms 14 is lprovided with an'extension 14aY located forward of the pivot when the arm is in horizontal position, topass underneath the web 9, and which is provided with two projecting lugs 16 and 17', (see Figs. 6 and 8) the purpose of which will later appear. To each of thearms 14 a sidebar 18 is permanently secured, the outer ends of the bars 18 being connected with a horizontal Vcross bar 19, suitable brackets 20 being used at the corners in effecting the connection of the bars 18 with the bar 19 (see Fig. 4). vThis provides a frame for mounting the tail gate for the body. Y

. The tail gate is mounted for rocking movement on a cross shaft 21, the ends of which are received in suitable bearings in the brackets 20. The tail gate consists of a plate 22 of metal, of the form shown in Figs. 3

and 5, reinforced at its side edges by bars 23Y and at its bottom edge by an angle bar 24. The tail gate may swing back and forth about the axis of the rod 21 and thus permit discharge of material carried by the body when the same is tilted at its forward end upwardly at an angle to the horizontal.

At each lower corner of the tailgate a bracket 25 is permanently secured of the form shown in Fig. 4 and which includes an integral rearwardly projecting boss 26 the rear sides of which are ofcurved form with a horizontal axis substantially coincident with the axis of the studs 15 on which the arms 14 are pivotally mounted.

Tail gate latches 27 pass through slots made in the downwardly extending flanges 13 and are connected at their frontends with arms 28 permanently secured to and extending downwardly from a rock shaft 29 which is adapted to be manually operated from the front of the body by a lever 30 connected with the rock shaft through the rodA 31 and the arm 32 extending downwardly from the shaft asV shown in Fig. 3. This method of operating a rock shaft is old and well known and by moving the lever 30 between its two extreme it will` be stopped Aby the lug 16 coming against the front edge of the cross web 8 as shown in'Fig. 6, and in its horizontal position the forward extension 14a of the arm 14 comes underneath the web 9 while the rear part ofthe arm bears against the upper edge of the cross web 8. By reason of the curved form of the bosses 26 on brackets 25 the tail gate construction may swing between its two extreme positions with the tail gate latches in latched position,.the surfaces of the bosses 26 riding against the front faces of the tail gate latches 27.

A latch for each of the arms 14 is mounted in each of said hollow corner members on a cross stud or shaft 33 below and in front of the pivot stud l5 for the arm. This latching device includes a rearwardly extending arm 34 terminating at its free end in a head 35 and a vertically extending arm 36 having a head 37 at its free end and from which an ear 38 extends forward. The latch is mounted for free rocking movement on the stud 33.

An operating lever 39 is pivotally mounted between its ends on a. pivot 40 on said ear 38. This operating lever is in the form of a stamping made in U-shape to embrace the ear 38 and at its forward end is equipped with a wire or rod 41 which extends downwardly and terminates in a finger rcceiving loop as shown. The lever 39 is limited in its movements by engaging against the sides of a lug 42 cast integral with and projecting to one side of the ear 38. That is. the lever 39 when moved to one position, as shown in Fig. 6, engages against one side of the lug 42 and when movedto another position, as shown in Fig. 8, engagesv at another point against the other side of Y said lug. An ear 43 projects laterally from the rear end of the lever 39 towhich one end of a coiled tension spring 44 is connected, the opposite end being connected to a laterally-extending projection 8a formed at the front end of the side 5 of the cornerv casting.`

When the arm 14 is in horizontal position as shown in Fig. 6, the head 37' of the arm l66 of the latching member bears against the lug 17 kon the arm 14`and is drawn .thereagainst by the spring 44 which,tending to turn lever 39 in a clockwise direction, presses the saine against the lug 42 and thereby tendsto turn the latching member in a clockwise direction. The arm 14 is accordingly held securely against any tendency to ump upward should the vehicle carrying the body be passing over rough roads and is firmly latched.` against undesired movement. f

To release the arm 14 a downward pull f is made upon the 'operating wire or rod 41 which turns thelever 39 to the position shown in Fig. S, the line ,of force of spring 44 passing from below to above the pivotal axis of the pivot 40 whereby there isa tendency of the spring to turn lever39 in a counterclockwise direction bringing the same against the opposite side of the lug 42 and tilting the latching member to the position shown in` sition. As the tail gate construction is turned to the vertical position .the end of lug-16 rides against the upper side of the arm 34,-

`forcing said arm 34 to aposition below the lower side of the corner c asting in which it is mounted, ridingv over the head 35; and as soon as lug 16 passes by said head the spring. 44 tends to return the latching Vmember to the position shownv in Fig. 6 and bring the outer-side of the head-35 againstthe front side of said lug 16 as shown in the dotted line position in Fig. 6.l Thetail gate construction is thereupon held securely in its vertical position against any tendency to drop to the horizontal. To release the latches for K turning the tail gate construction to horizontal position the'operating rods 41 are pushed upwardly, it being understood that the latch levers are then rotated downwardly in a clockwise direction yrelative tothe showing of Fig. 6,v until the heads 35 on the arms 34 permit the `lugs 16 to pass overjthe same. rllhese lugs 16 now cani past the other arms 36. Next, the springs 44,'being positioned as shown in Fig; 6, cause the heads 87 to engage lugs 17 thus locking the tail gate in its lower position.

tpis evident accordingly, that there :has

been provided an improved, easily operated,`

durable and eliicient constructionfor convert- Q ing a vehicle bodylinto the two" forms de V scribed-and one in which the latches for holding the arms 14 fin either position are veryI simply operatedvby pulling downwardly on fthe rods 41 for oneunlatchin'g movenient'and pushing upwardly on the saine for the other uiilat'ching movement. The sides 46 for the Y,

body are equipped with side stakes received at their` lower ends in sockets in the bottom 1 and, together'with the front 45 of the body, complete the body in its short form. When the tail gate construction occupies the horizontal position `shown in Fig. 2 other long sides may be used if desired, and sockets 47 are applied to the sides of the tail gate construction' to receive the end stakes of the body r sides. c

`The invention described `has proved particularly practical and serviceable.

invention'is dein'ed in the appended claims` and is to be considered comprehensive of all The.

forms of structure comingV within their.

scope.

I claim.: f 1. A vehicle body including, a bottom, and

an `end gate construction pivotallyV mounted.

thereon to move from a position iii-which it constitutes a closure for the end of the body to another-position in which it forms an extension tosaid bottom, latching means automatically engageable with said construction' to holdthe samein-either of said-positions,

and manually operable means connected with' saidlatching means vfor releasing the same by moving said ymeans in one `direction when Athe tail gate construction is inthe first position and in an opposite direction when the tail gate'construction is inthe other'position.y

2. Avehicle body comprising, a bottom and a tail gate construction pivotally mounted thereon at the rear 'end thereof for movement between two eXtreme positions, inone "of which it constitutes a closure for the rear endV of thebody and inthe other of which it forms an extension for said bottom, pivotally mounted latching means mounted at a side of the bodyand includingtwo arms positioned Y at an angle to each other, one of said armsV automatically engaging the tail gate construction in one position and the other engaging 4the saine in the other position to thereby hold the tail gate construction in either positionV to which it may be moved, and manually operable means for releasing said Vlatching means.

. 3. A vehicle a tail gate kconstruction pivotally mounted with respect thereto for movement between two extreme positions, in oneof' which it constitutes a closure for the end of the body and in the other of which it forms an eX-v tension to said bottom, said tail gate construction at each side thereof including an arm pivotallymounted between its ends, a latching device pivotallyv mounted adjacent the free end of each-arm and including two arms body includingya bottom andv iis located at an angle Ywith respect to each other,

vone of saidv arms of the latching device enstruction is in one of said positions, and the other arm of the latch engaging the free end of said arm of the tail gate construction when it is in the other position to thereby latch the tail gate construction in either of the positions to which it is moved.

4:. A vehicle body comprising, a bottom, a hollow casting secured at each rear corner of the body, each of said castings being slotted at its rear upper corner, an arm extending through the slot in each casting and pivotally mounted between its ends to turn about a horizontal axis, an'end gate construction connected to and extending between said arms, stop means limiting the pivotal movement of the arms and the attached end gate construction between two positions in one of which the end gate construction forms a closure for the end of the body and in the other of which it forms an extension for the bottom of the body, a bell crank lever pivotally mounted between the sides of each casting and having two arms ylocated substantially at right angles to each other, .one engaging against the free end of the adjacent tail gate arm when the tail gate construction is in horizontal position and the other engaging therewith when the tail gate construction is in vertical position, whereby said tail gate construction is held in either position to which it may be moved. n

5. A construction containing the elements in combination defined in claim 4, said vertical arm of the latching device having a forwardly projected ear, a lever pivotally mounted between its ends on said ear, a laterally projecting lug on said ear above said lever, a tension spring connected at one end to one end of the lever and at its opposite end connected with the body, the line of force of said spring crossing the pivotal aXis of said lever when it is turned from one position to another about its pivot and said lever engag` ing against opposite sides of said lug when turned from one position to another, and means connected to the opposite end of the lever for manually turning the same to either position.

6. A vehicle body comprising, a bottom and a tail gate construction pivotally mounted thereon for movement between two eX- treme positions in one of which it constitutes a closure for theend of the body and in the other of which it constitutes a continuation for said bottom, said tail gate construction at each side including an arm pivotally mounted between its ends on the body and having a free end portion, a manually releasable latching device mounted at each sid-e of the body to automatically engage with the free end portions of the arms of said end gate construction and hold said construction in either extremeposition to which it may befmoved, manually operable means mounted on each latching device and movable between two positions, and spring means connect-ed with said manually operable means to act on said latching means when in either of said positions to thereby hold the latching means in latching position.

7. A vehicle body comprising, a bottom, a tail gate construction pivotally mounted at an end of the bottom to turn from a'substantially vertical t'o av substantially horizontal position, and latching means to retain said tail gate construction in either of said positions comprising, a movable detent engageable with said tail gate construction in either of said positions, manuall-yoperable means for releasing said detentk from said tailgate construction in either of said positions, and means forv retaining said detent in said released positions in-which position it will automatically engage said tail gate construction when the tail gate is moved to the opposite of said positions.

8. A vehicle body comprising a bottom, a tail gate construction pivotally mounted at an end of the bottom to turn from a substantially vertical to a substantially horizontal position, a detent pivotally mounted on a iiXed portion of said body and engageable at its respective ends with said tail gate construction to retain said tail gate in either of its two positions, one of said ends engaging the tail gate in one position and the opposite of said ends engaging the tail gate in the other position, and manually operable means for disengaging either of said ends of the detent from the tail gate whereby the opposite end of the detent will be engaged by the tail gate when the tail gate is moved to the opposite position.

9. A vehicle body comprising a bottom, a tail gate construction pivotally mounted at an end of the bottom to turn from a substantially vertical to a substantially horizontal position, a detent pivotally mounted on a fixed portion of said body and engagcable at its respective ends with said tail gate construction to retain said tail gate in either of its two positions, one of said ends engaging the tail gate in one position and the opposite of said ends engaging the tail gate in t-he other position, manually operable means to disengage either end ofthe detent from the tail gate and means for retaining either end of the detent in disengaged position when so manually moved whereby the opposite end of the detent will engage the tail gate when the tail gate is moved to opposite position.

10. A vehicle body comprising a bottom, a frame pivotally mounted'adjacent said bottom whereby it may oscillate about a deiinite fixed axis, an end -gate pivotally suspended to said frame from its upper end, said frame and end gate being adapted to assume either a vertical positiony or an angular position by movement of the frame on its pivots,jend gate latches pivoted on the bottom, and means near the lower edge ofthe end gate engaged by said latches, said latches and means being shape-d to permit pivotal movement of said frame from vertical to angular position with said latches and means in Alatching engagement.

11. A vehicle body comprising, a bottom, a hollow slotted casting secured at each reark corner of said bottom, an arm extending into I each casting and pivotally mounted therein between its ends to turn about a horizontal axis, an end gate construction connected with and lying between the outer ends of said arms and movable between two positions in one of which it constitutes a closure for the end of the body and in the other of which it forms an extension for said bottom, latching means movably mounted in each ofk saidl castings pivots.

frame on its pivots, the combination of,

latches, and lugs near thev lower end of said gate engageable with said latches, said lugs having surfaces substantially concentric with the axes of the pivotsof the frame whereby the latches and lugs may .remain in latching, engagement while the frame is turned on sai In testimony whereof I aixvmysignature;A

. EDWARD R. BARRETT.

adapted to engage with the inwardly extending portions of said arms to hold the end'gate construction in either of the positions to which it is moved, said latchingmeans comprising two armslocated at an angle toI each` other and movable together, one of said arms engaging against the underside of its asso- Y ciated end gate arm when the end gate forms a continuation of the body and the other ofr said arms of the latch engaging with the tail gate arm in front thereof when thetail gate n constitutes a closure for the end of said body. 12. A vehicle body comprising, a bottom, a hollow casting secured at each rear corner of the body, said castings being slotted at their rear upper corners, an arm extending through the slot into each of said castings and pivotally mounted between its ends in said casting to turn about a horizontal axis, an end gate construction secured to and ex-j tending between said arms and movable be'-I tween substantially vertical and substantially horizontal positions, a latching device carried by each casting to automatically engage with the inner end of each arm in either ofthe positions to which moved and hold the same in said positions, manually operable releasing means mounted on each latchingdevice for releasing the same from said arms, stop means comprising a web extending from each f of said castings into the paths of the respective arms to the rear of their respective pivot points whereby excessive downward move- L ment thereof is prevented andmeans inte-` grally formed with and extending inwardly from said hollow castings into the paths of movement of said arms to prevent excessive upward movement thereof. y, l

13. In a vehicle body having a bottom, a frame pivotally mounted adjacent said bottom, and a gate vpivotally connected to the frame at its upper portion, saidframe being adapted to assume either a vertical position or a horizontal position by movement of the:y 

